Category: A – C

Biography: Methodist clergyman. Born April 4, 1905,  Gardendale. Parents– Rufus A. and Vashti R. Cook. Married– Mary C. McShan, November 14, 1928. Children–one. Education– Birmingham Southern College. Pastor of Methodist Churches in Birmingham,   Fort Payne, Northport, and Tuscumbia. Died January 22. 1991. Source: Files at Alabama Department of Archives and History; ancestry.com Publication(s): Cabin Lore. Dallas, Tex.;…

Biography: Lawyer. Born– March 5, 1877, Cedartown, Ga. Parents– Augustus Young and Sarah Ann (Ross) Blackmon. Resided at Choccolocco near Anniston. Married– Julia Virginia Miller, December 29, 1917. Children– Two. Education– Jacksonville State Normal School. Licensed to practice law in Alabama, 1898. Worked with the committee to draw up the 1901 Constitution of the State…

Biography: Engineer, businessman; U.S. Congressman. Born– October 17, 1848, Palmyra, N.Y. Parents– William Farrington and Louisa Maria (Klapp) Aldrich. Married– Anna Morrison of Newark, N.J. Children– five. Education– Attended military academy in West Chester, Pa.; M.A. in engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1869. Practiced engineering in New York for two years then moved to Selma, Alabama.…

Biography: University professor, administrator. Born–Jasper,  November 12, 1906. Parents– Robert Jackson and Eliza Jane (Bean) Cooper. Married– Julia Allen, June 6, 1930. Education– Abilene Christian College, A.B., 1926; University of Texas, A.M., 1932; University of Chicago, Ph.D., 1939. Worked at the University of Texas as a research assistant, assistant director, then acting director of the…

Biography; Teacher; genealogist; author.  Born–June 17, 1916, Eufaula, Alabama.  Parents–William Preston James and Beatrice Price James.  Married– Heustis Moore Cook, May 9, 1945.  Children–two.  Education–Alabama College for Women (Montevallo), B. A., 1938; M.A., Birmingham-Southern College. Taught at Pell City High School, 1938-41;  at Camden High School, 1941-46.  Published family histories, regional histories, and magazine articles on…

Biography: Historian; university professor. Born– September 10, 1911, Birmingham. Parents– Charles Arthur and Clemmie (Fason) Chappell. Married– Winn Ownbey, August 30, 1939. Children– Two. Education– Birmingham-Southern College, A.B., 1935; Vanderbilt University, A.M., 1936, Ph.D. 1941. Taught at Vanderbilt University, Winthrop College, Newberry College; head of the Department of History and Political Science at Huntingdon College…

Biography: University professor of speech; speech therapist and researcher. Born– August 12, 1908, Harbor Springs, Mich. Parents– Arthur and Kate McDuffee Backus. Education– Michigan College of Education in Kalamazoo for two years; University of Michigan, A.B, 1929, M.A., 1930; University of Wisconsin, Ph.D., 1933. Taught Latin and English in Bear Lake, Mich. for one year;…

Biography: Teacher, postal worker. Born– June 28, 1896, Talladega Springs; grew up in Childersburg. Parents– Jesse W. and Susie (Keith) Ryder. Married– Isaac M. Bush, 1918. Children– Three. Education– Alabama Normal College in Florence, 1917. Taught at Dothan for three years and at Childersburg for fifteen years. Worked as a postal clerk in the Childersburg post…

Biography: University professor, author, newspaper editor. Born– April 19, 1899, Birmingham. Parents– Hayden Prior and Pattie Undine (Goldwire) Childers. Married– Maurine White. Education– Oberlin College, B.A., 1920; Oxford University, B.A., 1923; M.A., 1927. Military service: Naval Aviation, WWI; U.S.Air Force Intelligence, WWII; retired with rank of colonel. Professor of literature at Birmingham Southern College, 1925-1942; associate…

Biography: Reporter. Born– Jan. 12, 1921, Dayton, Ohio. Parents– Harry Aubrey and Margaret (McCarty) Toulmin. Married– Fletcher Burchnall Carney, 1943. Education– Smith College, cum laude in history; University of Alabama, 1949. Cub reporter for the Dayton Daily News; reporter for the Albuquerque Tribune; research assistant for her father; and an assistant dormitory director at the…

Biography: Journalist; newspaper editor. Born– Dothan, December 10, 1898. Grew up in Worth County, Georgia.  Parents– Charlie Bowen and Laura Ann Chamberlin Bowen. Married– Lillian Collins, May 23, 1926.  Children– one.  Education– University of Georgia, 1923. While at the university worked on the university paper, The Georgia Cracker; worked on the Worth County local newspaper and the…

Biography: Author, editor; veterans advocate. Born– May 7, 1920, Bridgeport, Conn. Parents– Charles A. and Irene (Johnson) Bowen. Married– Dorothy Edwards, 1947; married 2d Naomi L. Misumi, 1968.  Children– four. Education– Attended the  Junior College of Connecticut, 1945-1946; University of Alabama, B.A., 1948, M.A., 1950; studied on a Fulbright Fellowship at the University College of North Wales,…

Biography: Teacher, poet, civil rights crusader.  Born– January 22, 1904, New York, N.Y. Parents– Leonard Thurlow and Isabel (Garghill) Beecher. Education– Attended Virginia Military Institute and Cornell University; University of Alabama, A.B., 1926; graduate work at Harvard University, 1926-27; ; University of Wisconsin, M.A., 1930; graduate work at the University of North Carolina, 1933-34.  Served in the U. S.…

Biography: Literary scholar; University professor. Born– December 13, 1917, Ridgeway, Pa. Parents– Albert and Emma (Luchs) Amacher. Married– Cordelia Anne Ward, August 26, 1953. Children– One. Education– Ohio University, A.B., 1939; attended the University of Chicago, 1939-1942; University of Pittsburgh, Ph.D, 1947. Taught at Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1944; Yale University, 1944-1945; Rutgers University, 1945-1947;…

Biography: Advocate for education; college professor;  legislator; attorney. Born– June 5, 1825, near Double Branches (Lincoln County), Georgia. Parents– William and Susan (Winn) Curry. Married Ann Bowie, March 4, 1847. Children–four.  Married Mary Wortham Thomas, June 25, 1867. Education–graduated from the University of Georgia, 1843; from Dane Law School at Harvard, 1845.  Admitted to the bar…

Biography: Political scientist; University professor. Born Danville, Va., November 19, 1907.  Parents; Walter H. and Martha Dodson Bennett.  Married– Maxine Purcell. Education– University of Richmond, 1930; Duke University, Ph.D., 1940. Taught in the Virginia public schools; Georgia Teachers College at Statesboro (1936-38); University of Alabama,1938-1977 ; assistant director of the Bureau of Business Research at the…

Biography: Teacher, salesman. Born– March 23, 1900, Decaturville, Tenn. Parents– George Walter and Arbia Ann Brasher. Married– Eleanor Buck. Children– Three. Education– Union University in Jackson, Tenn.; graduate work at Peabody College. Employed as a chemist for Dupont Engineering Company and the Mobile County (Alabama) Citrus Fruit Growers. Taught chemistry in high schools in Columbus,…

Biography: Baptist minister; Born– April 25, 1870, near Jonesboro, Ark. Parents– William Henderson and Eliza Martha (Mortan) Barton. Married– Rosa Belle Hurt, 1899. Children– Four. Education– Union University in Jackson, Tenn., A.M., 1898; D.D., 1911; attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1898-1899. Ordained to the ministry in the Baptist Church, 1896; served churches in Hope and…

Biography: Writer; University professor. Born– October 20, 1937, Eutaw; grew up in Demopolis. Parents– Sledge and Inez (Land) Cobb. Married– Loretta Douglas, August 15, 1965. Children– One. Education– Livingston State University, A.B., 1961; Vanderbilt University, M.A., 1963.  Professor and writer in residence at the University of Montevallo, 1963-2000. Published short stories, plays, and novels.  fellowship…

Biography: Journalist, novelist. Born– May 12, 1915, Birmingham. Parents– William Samuel and Lucille (Lokey) Brown. Married– Mildred Harbour, October 24, 1935. Children–two. Married– Frances O’Reilly, 1945. Children–one. Education– Attended the University of Alabama. Military service:  46th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, WWII.  Worked as reporter and editor for newspapers in Alabama, Tennessee, Atlanta,  and Missouri; feature writer for…

Biography: Poet; teacher. Born– March 19, 1899, Leeds. Parents– James Barnett Collier and Ida Vann Elliott. Married– Holger W. Andersen. Children– One. Education– George Peabody College, B.S., M.A., 1936. Public school teacher in Birmingham, 1918-1920, 1924-1933, and 1935-1937; assistant director of curriculum in Birmingham Public Schools, 1935-1937; taught at Arkansas State University; Pan American College.…

Biography: Music teacher. Born– November 7, 1902, Guntersville. Parents– Alexander and Lucinda Winston Hooper. Married– Dr. Bruce Barton. Children– Two. Education– attended University of Idaho. Employed with the Alabama Health Department for twenty-seven years; taught private lessons in piano for fifty years; organist at the First Methodist Church in Guntersville. State officer in the Alabama…

Biography: Physician. Born– May 22, 1897, Goodwater. Parents– Daniel Monroe and Amanda (Lessley) Carmichael. Married– Grace Donald, April 28, 1928. Children– Five. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., 1916; Tulane University, M.D., 1924. Practiced in Fairfield; attending physician at Birmingham Baptist Hospital after 1927, and at St. Vincent’s from 1934 until his retirement. Professor of clinical…

Biography: Housewife. Born– February 17, 1865, Winchester, Tenn. Parents– Aaron and Mary (McDonald) Russell.  Married– Charles Peter Beddow, November 6, 1881. Children– Seven. Education–attended Professor van Buren’s School, Chattanooga.  Lived in Birmingham.  Died June 24, 1935. Source: Dictionary of Alabama Biography; ancestry.com Publication(s): Oracle of Moccasin Bend. New York; The Neale Pub. Co., 1903.

Biography: Editor; journalist, author. Born– February 22, 1851, Camden. (Raised in Charlemont, Mass.) Parents– Edwin and Priscilla (Maxwell) Upson. Married– Edward Perkins Clark, January 1, 1874. Children– three. Education– Wheaton Female Seminary, Norton, Mass., 1869; Westfield Normal School, 1872. Taught in Cleveland, Ohio; edited the Springfield Republican and the New York Evening Post.  Contributed articles to…

Biography: Historian, college professor, librarian. Born– November 19, 1906, St. Louis, Mo. Parents– Roy Prentice and Mary (Olsen) Basler. Married– Virginia Pearl Anderson, August 31, 1929. Children– Five. Education– Central College in Fayette, Missouri, A.B., 1927; Duke University, A.M., 1930, Ph.D., 1931.  High school teacher, Caruthersville, Mo., 1926-28; professor of English at Ringling College, 1931-34;…

Biography: Engineer; University professor of engineering. Born– October 15, 1942,   Roanoke. Married–Mary.  Children–two. Education– Auburn University, B.S., 1966; M.S., 1972; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Ph.D., 1975. Served as an officer/combat engineer in the U. S. Air Force in Vietnam, 1966-71.  Awarded the Bronze Star for his service.  Taught at Mississippi State University, 1975-76; at the University of…

Biography: Theologian; University professor, administrator, librarian. Born– December 25, 1894, Huntsville. Parents– Lewis Capers and Nancy (McAdory) Branscomb. Married– Margaret Vaughan, June 15, 1921. Children– Three. Education– Birmingham Southern College, A.B., 1913, Oxford University, Rhodes Scholar, 1914-1917; Columbia University, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., 1924. Served on the Commission for Relief of Belgium, 1914-15; served briefly in the…

Biography: Teacher, social worker. Born– April  30, 1838, Autauga County, Alabama. Parents– Joseph Reid John and Rosanna Jane (Smith) John. Lived at Uniontown, Montgomery and Selma. Married– John Wirt Blandin. Children– Three. Taught in Selma and Montgomery, and in Houston, Tex. Organized Houston’s first mission board and was its president for several years; helped establish free…

Biography: Lawyer. Born– February 22, 1849, Greensboro. Parents– Augustus and Jane (Hatch) Benners. Married– Margaret Chadwick Jones, February 2, 1871. Children– Four. Education– Southern University, 1868. Attorney at Greensboro, 1870. Lived in Dallas, Tex., 1875-1885; Greensboro, 1885-1890. Represented Hale County in the Alabama Legislature, 1888-1889. In 1890 moved to Birmingham. Served as chancellor of the…

Biography: Poet, novelist, University professor. Born– July 7, 1915, Birmingham. Married– Firnist James Alexander, June 13, 1943.  Children– Four. Education– Northwestern University, B.A., 1915; University of Iowa, M.A., 1940, Ph.D., 1965. Worked for the Federal Writers Project, 1936-39.  Taught at Livingstone College (North Carolina), 1941-1942, 1945, West Virginia State College, 1942-1943, and Jackson State College…

Biography; Lawyer; author.  Born– November 22, 1823, Milton (Caswell County), North Carolina (moved to Alabama in 1835).  Parents– Thomas and Mary Jane Gorman Barr. Education– University of Alabama, B.A., 1841, M.A., 1842. Read law with Attorney Harvey Ellis in Tuscaloosa; admitted to the bar in 1843. Worked as a tutor in math at the University…

Biography: Public relations, rate supervisor, editor, civic leader. Born– May 3, 1911, Hackneyville. Parents– Charles Henry and Nellie Dunn (Ledbetter) Russell. Married– Jesse Clyde Cruse, December 22, 1931. Children– Two. Education– Birmingham Southern College, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, and University of Minnesota; University of Alabama, A.B. in Journalism (1976); Samford, M.A. in English…

Biography: Literary scholar; University professor. Born– July 8, 1908, New Orleans. Parents– Joseph Robustiano and Bertha (Ehrhardt) Current-Garcia. Married– Alva Garrett, June 18, 1935. Children– Three. Education– Tulane University, A.B., 1930; M.A., 1932; Harvard, A.M., 1942, Ph.D, 1947. Taught at the University of Nebraska, 1936-1939; Suffolk University, Boston, 1939-1942; Louisiana State University, 1944-1947; Auburn University,…

Biography; College professor; writer.  Born November 15, 1964, Lincoln, Nebraska.  Children–one.  Education; University of Missouri, B.A., 1987; Louisiana State University, Ph. D., 1993.  English instructor, Troy University at Montgomery, 1993-  .  Member F. Scott Fitzgerald Society.  Board member, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum, Montgomery. Managing Editor of journal F. Scott Fitzgerald Review. Received Hackney Awards for…

Biography: Teacher; author of children’s stories. Born– October 16, 1908, Yonkers, N.Y. Parents– Alfred and Nellie (Forrester) Wyllie. Married– Lee Cotten, December 30, 1949. Lived in Mobile after her marriage.  Education– Florida State University, A.B., 1930. Taught elementary school in Clearwater, Fla., 1932-1949. Member AAUW, Alabama Writers’ Conclave, National League of American Penwomen. Died September 6, 1997.…

Biography;  Attorney; writer. Born Atlanta, 1952.  Education– Birmingham-Southern, B.A.; University of Alabama Law School, 1978.  Practiced law in Alabama and Florida;  currently a senior attorney in the firm of Becker and Poliakoff, Ft. Walton Beach, FL.  Member of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association.  Received the George Garrett Fiction Award, 2003, for The Blessings of Hard-Used Angels.  Sources;…

See Reed, Wendy M.

Biography: Literary scholar; University professor; art collector. Born– November 20, 1933, Hanceville. Parents–John T. and Mildred Cargo. Married– Helen McCain. Children– Two. Education– Birmingham Southern College, B.A., 1955; University of Alabama, M.A., 1956; University of North Carolina, Ph.D., 1965. Taught at Snead State Junior College, 1956-1959; Fulbright scholar in France, 1959-1961, served on the faculty…

Biography; Presbyterian minister;  college professor and administrator. Born April 27, 1894, Lancaster, South Carolina.  Parents– Hunter B. Blakely Sr. and Susan Marshall Blakely. Married Mary Morris; one child.  Education– Attended Erskine College; Princeton Seminary (B.D. 1919); Louisville Presbyterian Seminary; University of Edinburgh, Oxford University; University of Berlin; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Th.D. , 1925. Held…

Biography: Librarian; teacher. Born– May 13, 1902, near Russellville. Parents– Boyce and Margaret Russell (Sargent) Broadus. Education– Judson College, A.B., 1923; George Peabody, M.A., 1926, B.S. in Library Science, 1933. Taught in Jefferson County Schools, 1923-1927, and at Henry County High School, 1927-1932. Librarian at Tarrant High School after 1933. The Sunday School Board chose…

Biography: Professor of English. Born– July 25, 1919, Nashville, Tenn. Married Mary Ann Bugg; Children– Three. Married Betty Jane Slemp.  Education– Vanderbilt University, B.A., 1939; Louisiana State University, M.A., 1940; University of Virginia, Ph.D., 1948. U.S. Army, World War II. Professor of English at the University of Arizona, 1947-1949, and Auburn University, 1949-1985.  Awarded professor emeritus status on…

Biography; Author; editor; bookseller.  Born July 28, 1949.  Married; three children.  Owner of Over the Transom Bookstore in Fairhope, 1997- .  Editor,  Mobile Bay Monthly; editor and publisher, Eastern Shore Quarterly, Red Bluff Review.  Founder, Southern Writers Reading Conference and chairperson, Fairhope Center for the Writing Arts.  Received the Alabama Library Association award for fiction for…

 Biography: Engineer; educator. Born– August 20, 1897, Dayton, Marengo County.  Parents– Francis Barton and Bettie King (Jones) Askew. Married–Frances Juanita Deloach.  Children–four.  Education– Dayton Academy, 1903-1913; Marion Institute, 1913-1914; Alabama Polytechnic Institute, 1914- 1917. Served in the U.S. Navy, 1917-1918; design engineer in Birmingham for ten years; teacher-athletic coach for three years; high school principal; assistant…

Alabama Authors › Create New Post — WordPress

Biography; Writer; teacher of writing. Born October 25,  1961, Montgomery.  Education; University of Alabama, B.S., 1985; Wichita State University, Kansas, M.F.A., 1990.  Taught writing at Auburn, Huntingdon College, Clemson University, Converse College.  Assistant director of the Writing Our Stories Project of the Alabama Writers Forum, 1997–.  Publishes short stories in journals and anthologies. Received the O.Henry Award.…

Biography: Pharmacist, reporter. Born– June 17, 1878, Greenville. Parents– Miles Henry and Cynthia Selena (Lee) Amerine. Education– U.S. Military Academy. Served with the Alabama National Guard, erecting the first wireless telegraph station in Montgomery in 1915; served with the Red Cross in Europe during World War I; reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. Died December 10,…

Biography: Editor, writer. Born– May 15, 1941, Anniston. Parents– James Robert Maxwell and Cornelia (Thompson) Alston. Education– St. Mary’s High School; junior college in Raleigh, N.C.; University of North Carolina, B.A. in English with honors in writing, 1963. Worked for the children’s book department at Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1964-1965; Harper & Row, 1965-1969; T.Y.…

Biography: Sportscaster. Born– February 14, 1913, Birmingham. Parents– Julius and Anna (Lieb) Israel. (Changed his name legally in 1943).  Education– Phillips High School, Birmingham; University of Alabama, A.B., 1932, LL.B., 1936. Pased the bar exam in 1933, but never practiced law. Taught at the University of Alabama, 1932-1937. Began his career as a sports announcer in…

Biography: Writer of military and detective fiction. Born– November 10, 1929, Newark, N.J. Parents– William Edmund and Gladys (Schnable) Butterworth. Married– Emma Josefa Macalik, July 12, 1950. Children– Three. Married Maria del Pilar Menendez, August 12, 1994. Attended Philipps Universitat Marburg in Marburg-an Oder-Lahn, Germany.  Served in the U.S. Army, 1946-1947, 1951-1953.  Chief of the Publication…